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IRC #boycottnovell @ FreeNode: June 8th, 2008



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ZiggyFishgood morningJun 08 00:04
moparxheyJun 08 01:02
ZiggyFishheyJun 08 01:12
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schestowitzI resent this contest (news): http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,1... . This insinuates that software patents have validity and that SF.net can have you sued. Unsurprisingly, it's funded by Microsoft. They can get away with this, too.Jun 08 05:08
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schestowitzhttp://www.opensource.org/node/338 ... Technical things compared to political ("communism") and religious ("fundamentalist") concerts. The Redmond FUD factory keeps busy.Jun 08 06:21
cozubschestowitz: while WinRiver has been doing some linux stuff recently, afaik VxWorks has nothing to do with linux... is so, then http://www.bloggernews.net/116062 iz nonsenseJun 08 08:31
cozubs/ is / if/Jun 08 08:31
cozub(commenting on that, as you linkes to that in here http://boycottnovell.com/20... )Jun 08 08:31
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schestowitzYes, seen the correction in the few places and added mine in Tux Machines.Jun 08 08:34
cozubokJun 08 08:36
schestowitzdsmith_, if Lenovo is /definitely/ not selling FreeDOS PCs, please let me know so that I can post awayJun 08 11:03
ZiggyFishschestowitz: are you going to be doing some posts soon?Jun 08 11:04
schestowitzJust did. I'm not sure if something can be said about Lenovo yet. Let's do some links now.Jun 08 11:27
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EruaranhelloJun 08 16:24
schestowitzHey there, I came back a minute ago.Jun 08 16:27
EruaranAnything interesting happening ?Jun 08 16:45
schestowitzI'm catching up. Microsoft has been eerily quiet in recent weeks (virtually no new products, just 3 dead ones) and it hasn't assaulted much either, so hopefully it ain't the calm before a storm... I wonder how long before Microsoft gets cozy with Linux Foundation, which would sidle with Microsoft before it ever meets the the Free Software Foundation. Sharing funds and ideology would help them tremendously though (FSF and LF).Jun 08 16:55
schestowitzThere's also the ambivalent IBM with its so-called 'MSO killer'. It is based on an old version on OOo. Still, better Lotus Symphony than MSO. Standards are a good start. One could learn from the Eclipse roadmap and suppose IBM will get it right eventually (Lotus Symphony would otherwise be a dinosaur with the dwindling IBM brand name/logo on it and nothing more).Jun 08 16:56
EruaranI dunno why they based it on OOo 1.1 thoughJun 08 16:58
arebentihttp://www.betanews.com/article/EC_approves_...Jun 08 17:00
EruaranYes already know about that... I've heard some reassuring statements but I'm still uncomfortable about NokiaJun 08 17:02
schestowitzThanks. I saw this earlier. I'm not sure sure Nokia is dangerous to GNU/Linux, but patents are a problem. Back in late May Nokia hailed Linux but at the same time sheltered its crown jewels (Symbian)Jun 08 17:03
EruaranI don't get the impression that Nokia has long term future plans for Symbian any moreJun 08 17:04
schestowitzReally?!?! I'd be very interest in more evidence.Jun 08 17:04
schestowitzinterested, I meanJun 08 17:04
EruaranUnless they are thinking of running QTopia on Symbian...Jun 08 17:05
EruaranBut that just smacks of effortJun 08 17:05
Eruaran:PJun 08 17:05
EruaranThey already have linux devicesJun 08 17:06
schestowitzNokia "definitely" preparing Linux-based phones, flavor unknown http://tinyurl.com/3usutw http://www.engadget.com/...Jun 08 17:06
schestowitzIn The Register they sort of denied rumours of adopting more Maemo/GTK/Qt for phones.Jun 08 17:06
schestowitzIt got started in Reuters: "Nokia eyes wider usage of Linux in cellphones" ( http://uk.reuters.com/article/tech... )Jun 08 17:07
arebentihttp://www.digitalmajority.org/forum/t-...Jun 08 17:08
schestowitzWhen they made the deal I immediately thought they tried to block OHA, OpenMoko, and maybe even Motorola and Palm.Jun 08 17:08
schestowitzSo does this Erkki Ormala chap inherit the swppats love?Jun 08 17:09
EruaranI think Nokia isn't interested in shouting "were using Linux" from the rooftops, they are more interested in promoting their brand name with hopefully good products without the customer needing to know anything about the software... Nokia doesn't come from or play in a market where people usually ask, "what OS does this run ?"Jun 08 17:10
schestowitzYou know, it was a former Microsoft employee who now works at Nokia that produced the FUD piece to intercept Ogg in HTML5. He wanted DRM and said Ogg suffered [sic] from swpats.Jun 08 17:10
EruaranhmmJun 08 17:11
EruaranI'm starting to think that "former" Microsoft employees are kind of like "former" CIA agents.Jun 08 17:11
schestowitzYes.Jun 08 17:11
arebentiour assumption is that there is a thin industry platform for swpat lobbying in Europe.Jun 08 17:11
schestowitzThey ruin Google as well.Jun 08 17:12
schestowitz<arebenti> , can you elaborate plase?Jun 08 17:12
EruaranDRM will eat itself.Jun 08 17:12
arebentiNokia is an essential part of it.Jun 08 17:13
arebentiNokia, Siemens, Microsoft.Jun 08 17:13
arebentietcJun 08 17:13
schestowitzyes, Siemen. Ben keeps harping about it.Jun 08 17:13
schestowitzSiemems.Jun 08 17:13
arebentiand you know, there are internal discussions, divergent interests.Jun 08 17:13
schestowitzACTA?Jun 08 17:14
arebentiACTA and TEC are special.Jun 08 17:14
schestowitzList of attendance from Switzerland would be good. Microsoft also has meetings with RIAA.Jun 08 17:14
schestowitzI wonder about SAP's role also.Jun 08 17:15
arebentiActa and TEC: Dinosaur vampires. Cast light on it and they will burn.Jun 08 17:15
schestowitzThey had the Agassi fellow (he ran away) doing a lot of anti-FOSS mouthwork.Jun 08 17:15
dsmith_"[06:10:24] <schestowitz> dsmith_, if Lenovo is /definitely/ not selling FreeDOS PCs, please let me know so that I can post away"     OK...Jun 08 17:16
EruaranThere's something all these corporates seem to forgetJun 08 17:16
arebentianti propaganda is helpfulJun 08 17:16
schestowitzReach is hard. Getting beyond the choir.Jun 08 17:16
EruaranThe customer.Jun 08 17:16
schestowitzThe customer isn't forgotten.Jun 08 17:17
schestowitzNever.Jun 08 17:17
schestowitzBut it ain't you.Jun 08 17:17
schestowitzThe customer is Hollywood and OEMs.Jun 08 17:17
EruaranhehJun 08 17:17
schestowitzYou're a worthless side effectJun 08 17:17
schestowitzWhatever is on the shelf thou shalt takeJun 08 17:18
arebentiacta is an indirect outcome from WIPO symposiums on piracy and counterfeiting.Jun 08 17:18
arebentiNo 4 here http://www.wipo.int/pressroom/en/articl...Jun 08 17:19
EruaranWhen our customers discover the dark side of DRM, we can see what the long term future of DRM is.Jun 08 17:20
schestowitzWIPO is a big problem. You know this a lot better than me, but a lot of the pwpats mess leads back to them.Jun 08 17:20
arebentino.Jun 08 17:20
arebentiWipo is a diplomatic consensus based UN institution currently obstructed by Brazil.Jun 08 17:21
schestowitzIt's hard to criticise it. I can't remember what role in played that made me associate it with intellectual WHIPPING (or people WEEPING)Jun 08 17:23
schestowitzI think of it as a front, but a very sophisticated one that's immune to criticism. A bit like MPAA, UN, White House...Jun 08 17:23
arebentiTRIPs was done via GATT because WIPO could not deliver, forum shopping.Jun 08 17:23
schestowitzTo what extant are they involved in patents?Jun 08 17:25
arebentiWIPO does PCT, it is basically forwarding of patents. Worldwide application. A substantial income source for WIPO, thus the conflicts about developing agenda.Jun 08 17:26
arebentiWIPO is one of the richest UN institutions because of these income sources.Jun 08 17:27
arebentiSPLT (Substantiver Patent Law Treaty) failed at WIPO. substantive == unify dogmatic what is patentable and what criteria are usedJun 08 17:28
arebentiSo they continued in the B+ subgroup (industrial nations) where it also failedJun 08 17:29
schestowitzWho pushed SPLT forward, I wonder.Jun 08 17:29
arebentiso discussions get continued on a transatlantic trade talk base, in the TEC trade process outside WIPOJun 08 17:30
arebentipushed by TABD - they set the agenda what politicians (EU-Commissioners, US Trade Commissioners) discuss.Jun 08 17:31
arebentilast meeting 13 MayJun 08 17:31
arebentiIt was pushed a bit amateurish without knwoledge of the insights.Jun 08 17:32
schestowitzIs this related the the warning that came from FFII about the Commissioner and harmonisation? Also, to what extent can they affect the east?Jun 08 17:32
arebentiyes.Jun 08 17:32
arebentiThe press release says they agreed on a road map.Jun 08 17:33
schestowitzOSIndia reports that they try to spread the swpats seeds in their also, but I haven't read the details.Jun 08 17:33
arebentiThe point you also find in the ffii pr is: the US needs to move first.Jun 08 17:33
arebentiThis is commonly agreed.Jun 08 17:33
schestowitzPrivate road map for now?Jun 08 17:33
arebentiThe precondition for SPLT is that the US moves to first to file.Jun 08 17:34
schestowitzThat's insane.Jun 08 17:34
arebentiroad map: not publicJun 08 17:34
schestowitzHa!Jun 08 17:34
schestowitzWho funds this?Jun 08 17:34
arebentiNow, what we know about the road map is that it was written by amateurs.Jun 08 17:35
schestowitzSame in Quebec recently. Also in BECTA and Newham in the UK (MoU)Jun 08 17:35
arebentiThey want an agreement this year. Won't work.Jun 08 17:35
schestowitzAmateurs = less liability in case of mistakes.Jun 08 17:36
arebentiamateurs in the sense of unexperienced.Jun 08 17:36
arebentiThese industry guys from the US have no clue how the political process moves.Jun 08 17:36
arebentiSo when they write a road map that pushes really hard and fast...Jun 08 17:38
schestowitzYes, it's a bit like filing for patents pretending now to have known about prior art or starting a lawsuit under these conditions. punishments are less severe...Jun 08 17:38
schestowitzWhat sources are you using to gain visibility -- a glance into such things?Jun 08 17:39
arebentiTEC is a "strange" political process. the agenda is too extremist.Jun 08 17:39
schestowitzI'm mainly fixed on the software side.Jun 08 17:40
arebentirss feeds are a real productivity toolJun 08 17:40
schestowitzYes, but which ones? I'm on all of FFII's ones, I think.Jun 08 17:40
arebentiAs of TEC its all public.Jun 08 17:40
arebentihttp://www.tabd.comJun 08 17:41
schestowitzI see you mainly on NOOOXML. Am I missing a research sandbox?Jun 08 17:42
arebentiThey even write it like "We set the agenda, politician will do x"Jun 08 17:42
schestowitz*watching URL*Jun 08 17:42
arebentiyes. private wikisJun 08 17:43
schestowitzTypical 'brochure' (i.e. useless) site: http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=...Jun 08 17:43
zoobabhiJun 08 17:47
arebentihiJun 08 17:47
zoobabI injected the idea of IRC in arebenti's mind yesterdayJun 08 17:48
schestowitzThanks for that.Jun 08 17:48
arebentiI am just here to improve by black list ranking...Jun 08 17:48
schestowitzI haven't used IRC for over 10 years.Jun 08 17:48
schestowitzHeh. You should have seen some of the trolls that came in and got banned.Jun 08 17:48
zoobabyou mean your visibility online: (publicly logged)Jun 08 17:49
zoobabI am dead after yesterday partyJun 08 17:49
zoobabbut the weather is nicer todayJun 08 17:49
arebentiit was gre4atJun 08 17:49
zoobabfinally some sunJun 08 17:49
zoobabI have a posterJun 08 17:49
zoobabhttp://www.bulexasbl.be/_images/f...Jun 08 17:50
schestowitzSame here (Sun)Jun 08 17:50
schestowitzWas out running for an hour in Trafford.Jun 08 17:50
arebentihow2 download a complete website with wget?Jun 08 17:50
zoobabwget -mJun 08 17:50
schestowitzI have a cron jab for it.Jun 08 17:50
zoobabthe problem is that you cannot download a portion of a websiteJun 08 17:51
schestowitzEverything I cite get stored locally twice a day. Handy for 404sJun 08 17:51
zoobablike http://www.mysite.com/portion/Jun 08 17:51
schestowitz+subdirs?Jun 08 17:53
zoobabhaving a lookJun 08 17:53
zoobabyou mean --cut-dirs?Jun 08 17:54
arebentiMy visibility? No goal.Jun 08 17:55
zoobabandre, can you have a look in the office if you don't see a DVDJun 08 17:56
zoobaba DVD without any jacketJun 08 17:57
arebentinegativeJun 08 17:58
zoobabcan you have a look in your pile of blank CDs?Jun 08 18:04
schestowitzInteresting new comments (found moments ago) from "NoSoftwarePatents": http://boycottnovell.com/2008/06/0...Jun 08 18:05
schestowitzThe Moox translators are C#-infected.Jun 08 18:06
arebentinegativeJun 08 18:07
arebentimoox, I see. what speaks against c#?Jun 08 18:08
schestowitzSoftware patents, bias against P/Ls that are not associated with and controlled by Microsoft... among other things. Long story.Jun 08 18:09
arebentithe ximian culture to proactively create dependencies on half-baked solutions is the problem here.Jun 08 18:12
zoobabwifi antenna from the trash:Jun 08 18:12
zoobabhttp://zoobab.wikidot.com/tetrapakantennaJun 08 18:12
zoobabcoming to the office, I need to find this DVD to give it backJun 08 18:14
schestowitz"yes, but does it run Linux?"Jun 08 18:15
schestowitzJust caught beneath the headlines: Microsoft India Managing Director jumped ship. The India ops are a mess (can provide refs if anyone is interested). Jun 08 18:40
EruaransureJun 08 18:41
schestowitzNews: http://infotech.indiatimes.com/arti...Jun 08 18:42
schestowitzRecent:Jun 08 18:42
EruaranthxJun 08 18:42
schestowitz..hold on...Jun 08 18:42
EruaranInternode is hosting a sourceforge mirror in Aust nowJun 08 18:43
schestowitzThis one is a 'wower': http://minimsft.blogspot.com/200... (plenty to read in older comments... leaks rather)Jun 08 18:43
EruaranSomebody at Internode loves open sourceJun 08 18:43
EruaranIf you choose Internode as your ISP you get free Ubuntu repositories and SourceforgeJun 08 18:44
schestowitzsourceforge seems to become somewhat of a Microsoft buddy, even the NewsForce umbrella.Jun 08 18:44
schestowitzFrom the news:Jun 08 18:44
schestowitzhttp://www.pcworld.com/articl...Jun 08 18:44
EruaranyesJun 08 18:45
schestowitz"Take, for example, "Most Likely to Be Ambiguously Accused of Patent Violation." This one calls attention to the perennial problem of so-called submarine patents, where software developers run afoul of patents that were awarded to speculators years earlier. Another category, "Most Likely to Get Users Sued," points out that not even customers are safe from intellectual property disputes."Jun 08 18:45
Eruaranread that articleJun 08 18:45
schestowitzContest sponsored by Microsoft, of course. There's more FUD and VS2008 promo on its way from sf.netJun 08 18:45
EruaransadJun 08 18:46
Eruarannevertheless, Internode customers get free Ubuntu reposJun 08 18:46
EruaranThat means it doesn't affect download limitsJun 08 18:46
schestowitzWhich country is that in again?Jun 08 18:52
schestowitzOh wait.Jun 08 18:52
schestowitzAIJun 08 18:52
schestowitzAUJun 08 18:52
schestowitzAs I thought, I want to show you something:Jun 08 18:52
EruaranI'm interested in anything local as I don't hear muchJun 08 18:53
EruaranIts not reported muchJun 08 18:53
schestowitzI can't recall the name of the ISP that blocked or neglected OOo downloads because it competed with its own new service.Jun 08 18:54
schestowitzIt was on iTWire of TechBlorge but it might take me a while to find the URLJun 08 18:55
EruaranPretty sure it was OptusJun 08 18:55
EruaranOptusnetJun 08 18:55
EruaranOptus is owned by SingtelJun 08 18:56
EruaranSingtel is a Microsoft partnerJun 08 18:56
EruaranBefore Singtel bought Optus out, their call centers used Macs and Optus actively kept track of GNU/Linux use amongst their customers, including which distro's people were using.Jun 08 18:58
schestowitzI'm not sure.Jun 08 19:02
schestowitzIt doesn't ring the same bell. Let me check.Jun 08 19:02
Eruaranah sorry it was bigpondJun 08 19:03
EruarantelstraJun 08 19:03
schestowitzYup, found it.Jun 08 19:04
schestowitz"Major Aussie ISP Telstra BigPond shafts open source OpenOffice "Jun 08 19:04
dsmith_shafts?Jun 08 19:04
schestowitzhttp://tech.blorge.com/Structure%20/2007/12/1... Jun 08 19:04
schestowitz"Australia’s largest Internet service provider Telstra BigPond has removed the free open source office suite OpenOffice from its unmetered file download area following the launch of its own, free, hosted, office application, BigPond Office. [...] Our reader was outraged by Telstra’s move, which he sees as an attack on the open source software movement."Jun 08 19:05
EruaranTelstra is a monopolistJun 08 19:06
EruaranSo no surprises thereJun 08 19:06
dsmith_dates news, but Bravo Sierra nonethelessJun 08 19:06
dsmith_*datedJun 08 19:06
schestowitzThat's the danger of throttling of tiered Web. It permits abuse. Comcast and the other Microsoft buddies (yes, they work with MS against Google, using actual deals) intercepted torrents and not they target users, not protocols.Jun 08 19:08
schestowitzOBS: Asay (CNET), Foley ((ZDNet) and  the Ramji Trojan horse do the 'damage control': http://blogs.zdnet.com/microsoft/?p=1433Jun 08 19:10
schestowitzMore on Microsoft's open-source embarrassment: http://www.networkworld.com/comm...Jun 08 19:14
Eruaran“The principle of the matter upsets me,” he said. “The fact that BigPond has removed previously allowed open source software is un-ethical. They are discriminating against me, even though I pay the same as other customers.  They are attacking the Free Software movement.”Jun 08 19:28
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arebentihttp://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegWeb/appl...Jun 08 21:11
arebentisearch for "software"Jun 08 21:13
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yuhongI am kind of neutral on Vista, but I do hate the MS-Novell deal.Jun 08 21:47
yuhongAlso, in terms of openness: ODF, OOXML, and of course the worst is the MS Office 97-2003 formats: .DOC, .XLS, PPTJun 08 21:48
taconeyuhong: vista worked like a charm for me. I turned the new pc, downloaded firefox, downloaded a linux iso with firefox and burned it without a problem. oh, and it shutted down properly either.Jun 08 21:49
yuhongIt does for me too, most of the time. Somewhat slow, but that is because I got only 1GB of RAM.Jun 08 21:50
taconeyuhong: I was kinda ironic, sorry :-)Jun 08 21:50
yuhongI do think that eliminating of software patents would be much better than trying to back off the deal.Jun 08 21:52
taconeyuhong: sw patents are valid only in a number of countries. but I don't think those will disappear anytime soon. the maximum to be obtained would be a reform, imho.Jun 08 21:55
yuhongBecause if MS was not able to sue. the patent deal is meaningless.Jun 08 21:55
yuhongThe deal comes into play only after you are sued, with the deal you can still use Linux, without the deal you canJun 08 21:56
taconeactually MS itself. is quite damaged by sw patents. they loose a lot of money on being sued all the time.Jun 08 21:56
yuhongIhe deal comes into play only after you are sued, with the deal you can still use Linux, without the deal you can'tJun 08 21:56
yuhongThe deal comes into play only after you are sued, with the deal you can still use Linux, without the deal you canJun 08 21:56
yuhongThe deal comes into play only after you are sued, with the deal you can still use Linux, without the deal you can'tJun 08 21:57
yuhongSo yes the deal could effectively make Linux non-free software, but only if MS was able to sueJun 08 21:57
yuhongA reform would be a good first step.Jun 08 21:58
taconelinux can't be made non-free imho. it would just get stripped down, changed or outlawed.Jun 08 21:58
yuhongYep even non-free software is damaged by patents.Jun 08 21:58
yuhongStripping down Linux is another alternative and probably much better.Jun 08 21:59
taconeyuhong: the entire world is damaged by patents, of any type. sw and not-sw. medical patents, for example. oe hardware patents (see the keyboard issue of OLPC)Jun 08 22:00
yuhongYep, and I know that, that is why reform is so important.Jun 08 22:00
taconeyuhong: much better ? you can live without mp3 but not without a gui. the problem is more wide, there are not only no-nonsense patents. never heard of jpeg-on-website patent ?Jun 08 22:01
yuhongYea, I know about the Forgent Networks patent, and big thanks to PUBPAT for fighting patent.Jun 08 22:02
taconeI am not optimistic about the chance of a reform. it won't happen imho.Jun 08 22:02
yuhongUnfortunately, the bill that was passing through the US Congress had a flaw related to third party reexamination, so...Jun 08 22:03
taconeyuhong: I was referring to jpeg-on-website not jpeg itselfJun 08 22:09
*benJIman wonders why the rss feed doesn't include the whole story. Makes it a lot less likely for me to read a whole article.Jun 08 22:20
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yuhongBTW, it isn't just MS that is evil, there are many corporations in the world that are evil.Jun 08 23:09
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chocolateanusgood day!Jun 08 23:27
chocolateanusschestowitz, wonderful website!Jun 08 23:28
chocolateanusschestowitz, [H]omer arebenti benJIman cozub Eruaran logger_bot moparx tessier tessier_ yuhong zoobabJun 08 23:34
chocolateanus[Obscene stuff censored]
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balzachelloJun 08 23:58
balzacI just read about Mark Shuttleworth licensing proprietary software from Microsoft.Jun 08 23:58
balzacThat really makes it clear that Mark Shuttleworth is not serious and I should be looking for another distro.Jun 08 23:58
moparxheyJun 08 23:59
balzachi moparxJun 08 23:59
balzacGnewsense or Debian - that's what I'm thinking about now...Jun 09 00:00
moparxlet the deciding begin :)Jun 09 00:01
balzacwell, I'm mulling it over. I really like aptitude.Jun 09 00:02
balzacI don't like the idea of being downstream of some project I don't really have full confidence in.Jun 09 00:02
balzacI don't yet know the implications of Ubuntu being downstream of debian or of Gnewsense being downstream of Ubuntu.Jun 09 00:03
balzacI want to get rid of any proprietary blobsJun 09 00:04
balzacI've compared the proprietary blobs in the Linux Kernel to a case of the measles.Jun 09 00:04
balzacwhat are you using, moparx?Jun 09 00:04
moparxI run arch linux & slackware right now. going to put together a debian machine soonJun 09 00:05
balzacI'm not happy when someone serves up proprietary crap in my distro's repository.Jun 09 00:07
balzacIt reminds me of when I order turkey bacon or turkey sausage and then I get paranoid I'm getting real bacon or real sausage.Jun 09 00:08
balzacI don't like being paranoid about my restaurants, nor about my linux distro.Jun 09 00:08
moparx*nod*Jun 09 00:08
balzacI wonder if debian keeps their repositories clean.Jun 09 00:09
balzacI think RMS is using Gnewsense, which is a cleaned-up, derivative of ubuntu.Jun 09 00:10
moparxhe is if I recall correctlyJun 09 00:10
balzacbut I don't like being downstream of some distro I don't have full confidence.Jun 09 00:10
moparxhttp://www.gnu.org/links/link...Jun 09 00:11
balzacIt's like eating vegetables chopped on the same cutting board which had pork on it a minute ago and you get pork juices on your veggies.Jun 09 00:11
balzacthanksJun 09 00:12
moparxno problem :)Jun 09 00:12
balzacI guess he was favoring Utotu before.Jun 09 00:12
moparxIt is a shame that the list on that page is so smallJun 09 00:16
balzacI'm still getting data off of my last windows box so I can delete it.Jun 09 00:16
balzacI've been inspired by RMS to get rid of all non-free software and not to have contact with it except for during an emergency.Jun 09 00:17
balzacI'm going to get an open moko phone too, when new ones are available.Jun 09 00:17
balzacYeah, it's a shame the FSF budget is so low as well.Jun 09 00:17
moparxI'd love to have an open moko myselfJun 09 00:18
balzacIt's not easy for me as a web developer.Jun 09 00:18
balzacI'm checking my websites with a remote desktop session to a windows machine. I'm not direction "using" windows or IE.Jun 09 00:18
balzacBut I have to get my style sheets working right.Jun 09 00:18
moparx*nod*Jun 09 00:19
balzacTechnically, I'm downloading images of a windows session and sending clicks back.Jun 09 00:19
balzacthe RDC connection is kind of like a condom which keeps me from direct contact with windows.Jun 09 00:19
balzacBut I'd really like to not have to do that.Jun 09 00:20
balzacI can ask my friends to do what must be done with proprietary software, but it seems kind of hypocritical.Jun 09 00:20
balzacI have friends who develop flash and I'm glad we can do contracts which require it but I won't touch flash anymore.Jun 09 00:21
balzacI gave up photoshop, flash, dreamweaver, and all proprietary games. No more Halo on the Xbox.Jun 09 00:21
balzacIt's going to feel damned good to be rid of the last proprietary software in my life.Jun 09 00:23
moparxyou should play tremulous. it is a great open source multiplayer game :)Jun 09 00:23
balzacit's built in blender?Jun 09 00:24
moparxnahJun 09 00:24
balzacI'll try it out. I probably need a faster computer. I can barely play alien arena.Jun 09 00:25
moparxahJun 09 00:25
*[H]omer has quit ("Leaving")Jun 09 00:48
*moparx yawnsJun 09 00:56
*tessier drops a prawn down moparx's gaping mawJun 09 00:57

Comments

Recent Techrights' Posts

Getting the European Court of Justice to Annul the Illegal and Unconstitutional Unified Patent Kangaroo Court (UPC)
We're still working on it
They Tell Us Slop Replaces Workers, But the Reality Is, US Debt Has Surged 2,300 Billion Dollars in Six Months (the Economy is Collapsing)
Oligarchy already entertains the option of running away to (or colonising) some other planet without pitchforks and "unwashed masses"
 
Expensive errors: Forbes Gold price, $44 billion Bitcoin given away by Bithumb, South Korea
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 08/02/2026: Microsoft OSI (Openwashing Lobby) in Europe, Raised Against Social Control Media Provocateurs in EU
Links for the day
The Open Source Initiative (OSI) Lobbies for Microsoft in the EU, Promoting Proprietary Lock-in
OSI pushing and selling Microsoft and GitHub. OSI is Microsoft front group.
Finland's Dependence on GAFAM (US) Needs to be Lessened, EU Must Follow This Path
It's unwise to make one's entire national infrastructure (computer systems) dependent on a regime which compares its black citizens to monkeys and assassinates nonviolent dissenters
Links 08/02/2026: Microsoft GitHub as Burden on Developers and "The Chomsky Epstein Files"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 08/02/2026: "Doing Not Much Tweaking" and "Reclaiming Digital Agency"
Links for the day
Forbes: BitCoin, Cryptocurrency pages removed from investment database, links stop working
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Bitcoin warning followed immediately by network outage
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Money Funneled to Protection of Software Freedom, But Nothing Really Lost
Crossposted from personal site
Mozilla Firefox Sinks to Just 1.5% in the United States
According to analytics.usa.gov
We're Still Fast
The site is even faster than the BBC's despite being on shoestring budget with only a small technical team
Gemini Protocol is Not a Waste of Time of Effort
We see more and more GNU/Linux- or BSD-focused bloggers turning to Gemini
Our Gemini Protocol Support Turns 5 Today
today is a rare anniversary for us
In Today's World, One Must be Tough and Principled to Get Ahead Morally
But not financially (sellouts)
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Saturday, February 07, 2026
IRC logs for Saturday, February 07, 2026
The Right Wing in the United States Does Not Support Free Speech, It Supports Its Own Speech
Free speech is often opposed by those who also oppose Free software
IRC is a Lot Better Than Social Control Media (They're Not the Same at All)
A good social analogy for IRC is, there are many buildings with a party in each building
Microsoft 'Open' 'AI' is 'Dead Meat'
Or 0xDEADBEEF as some geeks might call it
When Identifying "Low Performers" and "PIPs" Aren't About Improving Performance But Reinforcing a Clique in Your Company/Organisation
It's very troubling to see once-respectable brands like IBM and institutions like the EPO resorting to this
Slop and Flop (IBM), Slopfarms and Hybrids (Linuxiac)
Did Bobby Borisov assume he would never get caught?
Crowdfunding vs Bitcoins: donations are better investment than digital tulip mania
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Links 07/02/2026: Misinformation by Slop, Overrated Slop Causes Stock Market Panic
Links for the day
Gemini Links 07/02/2026: Diode Function Generators and Panic Over Buzzwords and Slop
Links for the day
A Can of WORMS - Part III - Envying the Influence and Accomplishments of RMS, Socially Deleterious Attacks on Popular Movements
the actions are deliberate and coordinated, not some 'organic' or grassroots behaviour
Crisis teams assembled as financial regulators anticipate Bitcoin implosion
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Reddit as a Hive of Trolls, Social Control Media Curated (Many Voices Censored and Banned) by Marketing Firm of GAFAM
Typical Reddit
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) Delusion - Part III - Women Failing Women to Help Violent Americans From Microsoft
Summed up, SRA will gladly prioritise the "legal industry" over women strangled, raped etc
The World Gets Smaller, as Does Its Real Economy ('Human Resources') and So-called 'Natural Resources' (What Humans Call the Planet)
Don't talk about "AI"
Converting FOSDEM Talk on Software Patents in Europe Into Formats That Work for "FOS" and Don't Have Software Patent Traps
transcoded version of the video
Links 07/02/2026: More White House Racism, "Europe Accuses TikTok of Addictive Design"
Links for the day
Silent Mass Layoffs: It's Not the Revolution, It's the Loophole and the Hack ("Low Performers" or "Underperformers")
Layoffs by another approach
Mark Shuttleworth (MS) Pays Salaries to Microsoft (MS) Employees
Canonical selling Microsoft
Links 07/02/2026: Windows TCO Rising, Lousy Patents Invalided
Links for the day
Microsoft Leadership: Stop Taxing Us, Tax Only Poor People
Does Microsoft create jobs?
Biggest "AI Companies" (Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft) Borrowed (Additional Debt) About $100,000,000,000 in a Year
Who will be held accountable for all this?
In Case You've Missed It (ICYMI), Google's Debt More Than Doubled in a Year
Wait till it "monetises" billions of GMail users with slop
In 2009 Microsoft Was Valued at ~150 Billion Dollars, Now They Tell Us Microsoft Lost ~1,000 Billion Dollars in Value. Does That Make Sense?
Or Microsoft lost 700 billion dollars in "value" in less than two weeks
PIPs and Silent Layoffs at IBM (and Red Hat) Still Going on, It's "Forever Layoffs" (to Skirt the WARN Act)
American workers out
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Friday, February 06, 2026
IRC logs for Friday, February 06, 2026
Stressful Times for Team Campinos ("Alicante Mafia") at Europe's Second-Largest Institution
Keep pushing
Growing Discrimination in the European Patent Office (EPO)
it's a race to the bottom, basically
Google News Drowning in (or Actively Promoting) Slopfarms Again
LLM slop is a nuisance
Microsoft Stock Crashed When Alleged Vista 11 Numbers Disclosed
And last summer Microsoft indicated that it had lost 400 million Windows users
Gemini Links 07/02/2026: "Choosing a License for Literary Work" and "Social Media Is Not Social Networking (Anymore)"
Links for the day
Gemini Links 06/02/2026: Git and Email Patches; MNT Pocket Reform
Links for the day
Geminispace Net Growth in 2026 About a Capsule a Day
A pace like this means net gain of ~300 per year, i.e. about the same as last year
It's Not About Speed, It's About the Message (or Its Depth)
Better to write news than to just link to news if there's commentary that the news may merit
Benjamin Henrion Warned About the Illegal and Unconstitutional Unified Patent Court (UPC) in FOSDEM 2026
Listen to Benjamin Henrion
Economies Crashing Not Because of Slop Improving 'Efficiency' (That's a False Excuse) and 'Expensive' (Read: Qualified) Workers Discarded in Race to the Bottom
Actual cocaine addicts are pushing out moral people
IBM's CEO Speaks of Layoffs, Resorts to Mythical (False) Excuses
This has nothing to do with slop
Links 06/02/2026: Voter Intimidation and Press Shutdowns in US, Web Traffic Warped by LLM Sludge
Links for the day
Does Linux Torvalds Regret Having Dinners With Bill 'Russian Girls' Gates?
See, the rules that govern the Linux Foundation and its big sponsors aren't the same rules that apply to all of us
IBM: Cheapening Code, Cheapening Staff, Cheapening Everything
IBM's management runs IBM like it's a local branch of McDonald's. IBM is a junk company with morbid innards.
GNU/Linux Measured at 6% in One of the World's Largest Nations
Democratic Republic Of The Congo
Linux Foundation Operative Says We and Our Software All "Owe an Enormous Debt of Gratitude" to a Software Patents Reinforcer
The only true solution is to entirely get rid of all software patents
Mobbing at the European Patent Office (EPO) - Part IV - EPO Can Get Away With Murders, Suicide Clusters, and Systematic and Prolonged Bullying by 'Team Campinos' ("Alicante Mafia" as Insiders Call It)
Nobody in the Council or the EU/EC/EP gives a damn as long as laws are broken to fabricate 'growth'
Jeff Bezos Isn't Just Killing the Washington Post, He's Killing Thousands of News Sites/Newsrooms (in Dozens of Languages) That Rely on It for Many Decades Already
Not just slopfarms; even the Ukraine-based reporters are culled by Bezos, who's looking to please the dictators of the world
Central Staff Committee Confronted António Campinos for Giving His Cocaine-Addicted Friend Over 100,000 Euros to Do Nothing, Just Pretend to be Ill, While Cutting the Salaries of Everybody Else
"On the agenda: Amicale framework & Financial assistance for courses"
How to Win Lawsuits in 5 Simple Steps
Keep issuing threats every week and send 60 kilograms of legal papers to the target
More Than 99% of "AI" Companies Aren't AI, They're Pure BS
We need to discard those stupid debates about "AI" and reject media that gets paid to participate in such overt narrative control (manipulation like The Register MS)
AI Used to Save Lives, Now "AI" is a Grifting Scheme That Burns the Planet and Will Crash the Economy
What the media calls "AI" (it gets paid to call it that) is the same stuff that could instead be dubbed "algorithms"
Living in Freedom When 'False Flag Operations' Like EFF Get Captured by Billionaires to Take Freedom Away
There are many ways to think of Software Freedom
Amutable is a Microsoft Siege Against Freedom in GNU/Linux, Just Like the People Who Brought You 'Secure Boot' Controlled by Microsoft
Do whatever is possible to avoid Amutable and its "products"
Growing Focus on Publication
Over the past ~10 days we always served more than a million Web hits per day
"Going to be a large number of Microsoft layoffs announced soon"
Everybody knows a giant wave of layoffs is coming Microsoft's way
End of the 'GPU Bubble' and NVIDIA Finally Admits It Won't Bail Out Microsoft OpenAI Anymore
circular financing (financial/accounting fraud)
Corrupt Media Won't Hold Accountable Rich People for Role in Pedophilia
Journalistic misconduct or malpractice is a real thing
Over at Tux Machines...
GNU/Linux news for the past day
IRC Proceedings: Thursday, February 05, 2026
IRC logs for Thursday, February 05, 2026
EPO Management ("Alicante Mafia") Not Properly Sharing Information on Scale of Strikes by EPO Staff
disproportionate (double) deductions in salaries against people who participate in strikes, which are protected by law
Gemini Links 06/02/2026: Slop/Microslop, Home Assistant, and Valid Ex Commands
Links for the day
Blackmail evidence: Debian social engineering exposed in ClueCon 2024 talk on politics
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Bitcoin crash: opportunity or the end game?
Reprinted with permission from Daniel Pocock
Changes at the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
SRA is basically a waste of money
Claims That IBM Will Lay Off 20% (or 15%) of Its Workforce This Year Unless It Finds a Way to Push Them All Out by Threats, Shame, Guilt
Where are the articles about IBM layoffs?
IBM Isn't a Serious Company Anymore, It's a Ponzi Scheme Operated by a Clique and It Misuses Companies It Acquires to Prop Up or Legitimise the Scheme
IBM seems like it's nothing but a "Scheme"
Google News Drowning in Slop About "Linux" (Slopfarms Galore)
Google should know better than to link to any of these slopfarms, but today's Google is itself a pusher of slop